Obviously, if we're going to be buying inventory of any kind to put in the vending machine, the initial outlay should come out of Orions personal bank account.

Why is this even an issue??

(Just kidding)

If Marvin and the gentleman whos name I don't recall have any more arduino strippers, at $20, I would foot the bill to put one in the machine at a slight markup, for experimental purposes, any profit going directly to the space.

Even though some folks working electronics might have "well stocked" supplies, I don't feel I'm in that group. I'd think that some common electronic parts would get some sales, but certainly the whole vending machine doesn't have to be dedicated solely to electronic parts.

paul, if we buy the arduinos that means we have cash tied up in inventory. odds are we can't afford to buy enough volume to get a bulk discount, so we'd have to sell them above retail to make a profit. we might be able to buy them at discount if a vendor was willing to consider a discount as donation.

does someone who knows more about what kinds of sparky parts are annoying to not have want to create a poll on here to ask how much/often folks would use the machine for it?

someone's also gonna have to package parts in a fashion that'll feed from the machine.

as i ponder this more, it sounds both really cool, and kinda silly as we've the HUGE pile of gear for parts harvesting.

metis wrote:paul, if we buy the arduinos that means we have cash tied up in inventory. odds are we can't afford to buy enough volume to get a bulk discount, so we'd have to sell them above retail to make a profit. we might be able to buy them at discount if a vendor was willing to consider a discount as donation.

does someone who knows more about what kinds of sparky parts are annoying to not have want to create a poll on here to ask how much/often folks would use the machine for it?

someone's also gonna have to package parts in a fashion that'll feed from the machine.

as i ponder this more, it sounds both really cool, and kinda silly as we've the HUGE pile of gear for parts harvesting.

We don't need to buy them at a discount and we can sell them above retail to make a profit, but we don't need to profit off of it. It could be a service.

Doesn't look like there is a part order minimum, but a $/order minimum does exist.

We will then set you account to “reseller”, email you back and you’ll have access to reseller pricing on our kits, up to 40% off, depend on quantity.

All we ask is that you make orders over $250 per order, this is so we don’t go out of business doing this – so far all Hacker Spaces have been above $500 per order since they’re ordering a lot so we’re putting $250 for now as the minimum.

From the Adafruit Blog. Don't know if there terms have been updated since though

I would volunteer my time to hand package whatever you geeks can sell. The raman is pretty cool and the 'TV-B-Gone' brought back memories.I would also like some healthier snacks because the nutritionist at the VA showed me a very convincing pie chart showing that frozen peanut butter cups are not a recognized food group. The previous comment just made me an enemy of the state.

I could definitely see myself purchasing colored masking tape/electrical tape from a vending machine. Also saw blades for the jigsaw, sandpaper pads for my arsenal of sanding robots (of which I made the strongest member my lover) and batteries, lots of batteries.

I agree with Riley, orion has the personal bankroll to accomodate the initial stocking; and if we run at a loss? Well, thats a risk I'm willing to take.

Simple kits and batteries would be a good addition to the vending machine. I have to second the idea of healthier snacks! A healthy protein and dried fruit would be nice like roasted almonds and craisins. Cashews or jerky would also be fantastic to have in there.